Make 'Em Laugh: Craig Ferguson's "Does This Need To Be Said?"

Craig Ferguson is not the most creative or edgy comedian out there. He doesn't push the envelope too much or make his audience rethink what comedy can be in the way that George Carlin did, but that is okay. Craig Ferguson is a funny guy who gets consistent chuckles and a few big laughs without making his audience uncomfortable like Daniel Tosh. For people that watch a lot of stand-up comedy, though, Ferguson doesn't bring anything new or revolutionary to the medium with Does This Need To Be Said?.

Craig Ferguson's stand-up special Does This Need To Be Said? opens with a sexy male flautist and saxophone player dancing around the stage. It is a nice mix of goofy with a little bit of raunchy, which pretty much sums up Ferguson's routine. His routines cover sex, parenting, growing up in Scotland, and what it's like to host a late night show when your boss is caught in a sex scandal. He closes the show with a dance lip-sync performance of Britney Spears' Oops!...I Did It Again with the sexy flautist and saxophone player, now acting as back-up dancers.

One of the biggest differences between the jokes Ferguson does on his show and the jokes he does in his stand-up is that he gets to say a lot more swear words in his stand-up. There is a whole bit about how he isn't allowed to say “f---” on his show, and he revels in getting to say it over and over again. The thing is, though, that despite throwing around the f-word, Craig's humor isn't really subversive. His edgiest jokes are about the David Letterman sex scandal and talking with his son about the birds and the bees only to find out his son knows more than he does. He doesn't make jokes that make people angry. He isn't insulting their religion or pointing out their shortcomings. He's just telling some dirty jokes.

The best part about Ferguson as a stand-up comedian is how likable he is. More than just that Scottish charm, he is a unique comic because he has been through the drugs and the alcohol, and he has come out the other side. He is a positive comedian without being squeaky clean or preachy. Ferguson has the life experience to joke about his former habits, but he could charm my grandma so long as he stayed network television-friendly.

My problem with Does This Need To Be Said? is that Craig does not need to push the envelope. Even his “happy cursing” seems kind of unnecessary. I am not at all against cursing. I think that certain comedians can use the f-word in a poetic way. Carlin once again comes to mind with his “Seven Words You Can Never Say On TV” routine. The cursing is integral to their comedy. When it isn't integral, like in the case of Ferguson, I have to question why he would isolate a part of his audience that might be immediately turned off by those words.

Ferguson was chosen for The Late Late Show for a reason, and it was because he isn't like Carlin. His humor tends to be more safe, and he sticks to easy targets. In one bit, he is joking about Kevin Costner's sex scandal where he got a “happy ending” while on vacation. The crowd is chuckling, but he doesn't reel them in until he mentions that Costner happened to be on his honeymoon. When the audience roars, Ferguson quips, “You feel more comfortable judging him now, don't you?” An audience is comfortable laughing at a celebrity. They are less comfortable laughing at themselves. At the same time, his jokes feel like they came straight out of the opening monologue of his show which is why I am confused that he added so much cursing. It might be cathartic for him to get to say these words again in his routines, but it didn't add anything for me as a viewer. I think that if Craig Ferguson does another stand-up special for Comedy Central, he should either go all-out and really try something radically different from what he does on The Late Late Show or stick with what already works for him. Good humor can have cursing, but good humor does not need cursing.